CR 13th Feb '10

[Keith]

A little frosty in sheltered places this morning, so the Training Group headed off down the A23/A264, as far as the Horsham roundabout.

A nagging headwind after the turn explains why we were zipping along so nicely on the way out.

The initial group of 8 was slowly whittled down to 3 by the end, with a strong Paul H doing the majority of the damage. A tough ride with lots of thru & off - great training.

[Alan M]

I was with you in spirit. Headed out for a 2 hour climb to Cumbemayo. There were 4 of us and I put in a couple of attacks on the flatter sections but at 11000 feet oxygen debt is still a problem! We had some great views and were chased by mad dogs once or twice. The downhill was great. Wide dirt road and fast switchbacks. Slept in the afternoon and am soon to be mingling with carnival people who have had a productive day getting drunk and throwing paint at each other. Have fun. Back 11/3

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbe_Ma ... ected=true

cheers one and all.

Alan
http://malarkeyenperu.blogspot.com/

[Marcus]

[quote="Alan M"] Headed out for a 2 hour climb to Cumbemayo. There were 4 of us and I put in a couple of attacks on the flatter sections but at 11000 feet oxygen debt is still a problem! We had some great views and were chased by mad dogs once or twice. The downhill was great. Wide dirt road and fast switchbacks. Slept in the afternoon and am soon to be mingling with carnival people who have had a productive day getting drunk and throwing paint at each other.
cheers one and all.
Alan

[Marky Mark]

Hello you rabble.

My first CR of the year, time out due to Illness and broken bones.

So nice be riding with my Addiscombe family again, been far too long and those hills got longer and steeper than the last time I rode them.
I had the pleasure of riding back with Smiley John, Tim and 3 newbies, lots of shiney new toys out there.

Nice to be there for the new people and give support and wheel to follow, John still knows hows to get us home through the tough hills and flurries of snow.

I was so tired I didn't even want to stop for a drink!!! LOL

Working next weekend so won't be able to ride but I feel a few midweek rides on the cards.

All the best, Marky Mark

[Amy]

I decided that as it was not a day for rushing I'd go with Pete S on an alternative route up and over Farthing, down to Bletchingley, Nutfield, past Priory Farm (good cafe in there) and then round Redhill aerodrome to Salfords and onto the cafe from Horley and Povey Cross.

We started off with 6 but no one seemed to notice that we arrived at Charlwood with only 4.... We didn't have any problems with ice, survived any potholes we hit but it was the flock of partridge (Pete, you were right) which did for us or at least two of our group.

As we started out the otherside of the hollow where Priory Farm is we were well spread out - Pete S in front, followed by Andy, Robin, then myself with Geoff and Pete K (Kozlo Pete?) behind when we suddenly realised 20-30 partridge were trying to cross the road from our side. Not quite sure what happened but the shout went up of easy and we all slowed down. There were cars coming towards us but the partridge were spooked enough to head back the way they'd come so by the time I got to where they were they were almost off the road. But then out of the corner of my eye I suddenly saw Geoff well over to the middle of the road , there as a shout and suddenly he was heading for the road head first, closely followed by the other Pete.

The car that had been coming the other way very kindly stopped and, after dumping the wife and daughter out to go to the cafe, the driver took Pete back home along with his bike as he was quite shaken by his fall having hurt his knee and grazed his face. Geoff continued on to the station at Salfords, where some kind soul had turned the sign round so that it faced into the houses opposite, to get the train back home. Unfortunately Geoff's bottle wasn't so lucky - I went to move his bike right out of the road because a great chelsea tractor was going by and Geoff's bottle had come out of the cage and as I picked the bike up to save the wheels being run over the bottle rolled a couple more inches out into the road and I had to watch as it went under the rear RH wheel...

Hope both you guys are OK - especially Pete as we were rather worried about you.

After that it was all a bit flat - the rest of the ride to the cafe was uneventful. After tea and crumpets I left with the first lot (unfortunately most of the TG types), held on to just past Horley/Meath Green and then just battled the head wind on my own mostly back to the cafe though I did pick up with Graham and Pete H at different times. I think the cold is really draining me at the moment... A cuppa at Nonna Rosa's and then off to Sutton with Steve B and Kevin as I was cat feeding for a friend while he was away. At least his cat is friendly unlike mine

Good to see you out Marky Mark

[KozloPete]

Oh well that was a short and not so sweet ride.
It was pretty much as Amy said. Just before Priory farm my wheel slid slightly (must have been too near the verge) so decided to take it easy down the hill and catch up on the flat, caught up with Geoff but as we were a bit behind did not hear the call, so when Geoff braked I could not stop in time and tried to veer to the right but caught his arm in the process (Sorry Geoff hope you are ok).
An unfortunate accident and will be a lot more careful in future but nothing broken just a few bumps, bruses and a stiff neck. Hope to be back in a couple of weeks non the worse for ware.
P.s A big thanks to the car driver Nick and his family who stopped and gave me a lift home.
Cheers Peter

[Amy]

Good to hear you're OK, Pete! Very kind of Nick to stop and help - though it probably turned out expensive with wife and daughter at Priory Farm

Another driver also offered to help out but the rest just drove past...

[Sylv]

A good fun ride (1) which took the main roads and back and forth on the dual carriageway due to the weather conditions,
We were nicely pootling along at around 16mph (2), just before the turning point we lost a few who stopped for an agreeable coffee (3),
Then a gentle headwind (4) hit us and we had to put a little bit more effort into it (5),
We were swapping turns evenly at the front and chatting (6), then on the slight rise just as we leave the DC PaulH told us last one at the lights was on for tea and cakes (7),
The four of us left then regrouped for a breather and carried along merrily crossing the sprint line simultaneously (8),
My legs after the cafe were slightly sore (9) and I was looking for a gentle ride via Box Hill with a relaxed group,
Unfortunately I realised I had a puncture so after losing time trying to locate the foot pump (unsuccessfully) and mending, I set off with the aim of catching the group by the top of Box Hill,
The gentle headwind evoked earlier was my sole companion for the rest of the ride as, apart from two acc riders chatting I didn't catch anyone else (10),
Got home nice and fresh with an agreeable 35 miles in the legs (11)

[size=50]
(1) training group with the usual suspects
(2) going like crazy with the tailwind averaging almost 24mph to the turning point
(3) got dropped (or lost their bottle)
(4) most horrible, nagging headwind ever
(5) put every bit of strength we had left into fighting the wind
(6) started having to miss some turns leaving PaulH to do the lion's share of the work, in total silence as we couldn't speak
(7) attacked from the back and got a gap, I tried getting back to him leading Keith and Rob, but saw the lights red so stopped pedalling being very thankful for that, thinking I'd be able to soft pedal until they went green, but they did sooner than I'd thought, and by that time the three of them were gone
(8) I managed to keep them in check for a while but by the end lost sight and didn't even get to see the sprint
(9) like planks of wood
(10) perhaps unsurprisingly as by then I was totally fried and hauled myself up Box Hill in a disastrous 8"55
(11) almost as tired as after last week's Old Ports ride with 65 miles[/size]

[andrewf]

Glad to hear you're ok Pete....and trust Geoff isnt too badly damaged either

Amy...definitely Guinea Fowl....Bill Oddie is a family friend

Andy

[djembi]

Andy and Amy the bird issue is easily resolved by clarifying if there are any pear trees at the accident black spot because guinea fowls don't like pear trees.
Also at the inquiry I hope there is full disclosure on the shout that was made, was it partridge or guinea fowl.

[Roy Green]

A positive, though — friendly motorist, to match Kate's kind Postie.

[Keith]

[quote="Sylv"]Got home nice and fresh with an agreeable 35 miles in the legs (11)

[size=70]
(11) almost as tired as after last week's Old Ports ride with 65 miles[/size]

[quote="Keith"][quote="Sylv"]Got home nice and fresh with an agreeable 35 miles in the legs (11)

[size=70]
(11) almost as tired as after last week's Old Ports ride with 65 miles[/size]

[Marky Mark]

[quote="Sean Hogan"]Fowl Play?

[Phil H]

Well I think it's extremely irresponsible to go out when you know there is a risk of birds. What if somebody should decide to sue? I think if there's a risk then the VCs should consider cancelling the ride.

ACC: No Birds!